Journal
MARINE DRUGS
Volume 8, Issue 3, Pages 471-482Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/md8030471
Keywords
brackishwater cyanobacteria; sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryo larval bioassay; brine shrimp Artemia salina lethality test; benthic habitats
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Funding
- Portuguese Governmental Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/32486/2006]
- the student of fellowship Integration into Research Grants, Claudia Silva
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/32486/2006] Funding Source: FCT
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Cyanobacteria are a diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria that produce an array of secondary compounds with selective bioactivity against vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, microalgae, fungi, bacteria, viruses and cell lines. The aim of this study was to assess the toxic effects of aqueous, methanolic and hexane crude extracts of benthic and picoplanktonic cyanobacteria isolated from estuarine environments, towards the nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia salina and embryos of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The A. salina lethality test was used as a frontline screen and then complemented by the more specific sea urchin embryo-larval assay. Eighteen cyanobacterial isolates, belonging to the genera Cyanobium, Leptolyngbya, Microcoleus, Phormidium, Nodularia, Nostoc and Synechocystis, were tested. Aqueous extracts of cyanobacteria strains showed potent toxicity against A. salina, whereas in P. lividus, methanolic and aqueous extracts showed embryo toxicity, with clear effects on development during early stages. The results suggest that the brackishwater cyanobacteria are producers of bioactive compounds with toxicological effects that may interfere with the dynamics of invertebrate populations.
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